The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1887-04-28
A Thanksgiving Out West
nicago News.

uoiiie AoAkS' tanu III ~ 10 haO complain
ed that never before had he spent such
a weary, lonesome day as this thanks.
giving day had beeh Having finished
this letter. he sat for long time gaz
ing idly into the open fire that snap
ped cinders all over the hearthstone
and sent its red forks dancing Up thu
chimney to join the winds that irolick:
ed and gamboled across the Kansas
prairies. that raw November night
1t had rained hard i'll day and was
cold, and, although the"open fire made
every honest effort to be cheerful, Ezra,
as he sat in front of it in the wooden
rocker. and looked down Into the
glowing embers. sxperiehced adreadful
feeling OF loneliness and homesick.
ness.
"Tm sick o. Kansas" said Ezra ia
himself. "Here I've been in this plasuey
country for goin' on ,a,year, and.
yes. Pm sick Of it, powerful sick OF It.
What a m,ser'ble thanksgivin' this
has been! They don't know what
thanksgivm' is out this way. 1 wisl,
was back in OF Mass chusetts-that's
the country for ME, and they hev the
kind O ,thansgivin' I like!'
Musing in this strain, while the rain
went patter-patter on the window
panes, Ezra saw a strange sight In the
fire,place-yes, right among theembers
and the cracking flames Ezra saw d
strange, beautiful picture unfold and
spread itself out like a panorama.
How very wonderful" murmured
the young man. Yet he did not take
his eyes away, for the picture soothed
him and he loved to look upon it.
ut is a pictur' OF long ago." said
Ezra, softly. II had like to forget it,
but now it comes back to me as nat'=
raj as an OF friend. An / seem to be
part of it, an the feelin' of that time
comes back with the pictur'. too"
Ezra did not stir. His head rested
upon his hand, and his eyes were fixed
upon the shadows in the freight:
1T is a pictur' of the OIL home" said
Ezra to himself. IT am back there in
Belchertown, with the Holyoke hills
up north an the Berkshire mountains
q loomln' up gray an misty like in
the western horizon. Seems as if it
wt,z early mornin'; everything is
still, and it is SO cold when we
boys crawl out @ bed that, il
it want thanksgivin' mornin', we'd
crawl back again an wait for mother
to call us. But it is thanksgivin'
mornin, an we're goin' skatin' down
on the pond. The squealin' o. the
pigs has told us it is 5 O'Clock and we
must hurry; we're going to call by for
the Dickerson boys an Hiram Pea
body, an we've got to hyper! Brother
Amos gets on about half O. my c!o'es
and get on bout half o. his, but 1t s
all the same; they are stout, warn,
clo'es and there big enough to fit any
OF us boys-mother looked out for
that when she made 'em When we 20
downstairs We find the girls there,
all bundled up nice an warm
Mary an Helen an Cousin
Irene. They're goin' with us an
we all start out tiptoe and
quiet-liEe SOS not to wake up the OF
tolks. The ground is frozen hard; we
stub our toes on the frozen ruts in
the road. When we come to the min.
lster' s house, Laura is standin' on
the front stoop, a-waitih' for us. Lau-
"a IS the minister's daughter. She's q
friend O. Sister Helen's-pretty as q
dagarr' otype, and gentle-like and ten.
der. Laura let's me carry her skates,
an I'm glad of it, although have nv
hands full already with the lantern,
the hockies, and the rest. Hiram
Peabody keeps as waitin', for he has
oversight him an when he comes
trottin' out at last the girls make fun
OF hlm-all except Sister Mary, an
she sort O. sticks up for Hitam, an
we're all so cute we kind o. calc'late
we know the reason why.
"And now" said Ezra, softlv. "the
plctur' changes; seems as if I could
see the pond. The ice is like q black
lookin' glass, and Hiram Peabody
slips up the first thing an down he
comes lickety split, an we all laugh
except Sister Mary, an she says it
Is very impliteto laugh at other folks
misfortunes. Ough! how cold it is,
and how my fingers ache with the
frost when l take off my mittens ia
strap on Laura's skates-but oh, how
my cheeks burn! And how careful ]
am not to hurt Laura, an how / ask
her II that's tight enough an how
she tells me list a little tighter an
how we two keep foolin' along till the
Others hev gone an we are left alone
An how quick get my own skates
strapped on-none O your new-fane.
led skates with springs an plates an
clamps an such, but honest, or.
fashioned wooden ones with steel
runners that curl up over my toes
an, have a. bright brass button on the
end! How I strap 'em and lash EN-
and buckle. 'em on! An Laura waits
Tor ME an tells ME to be sure to get
EN- on tight enough-why, bless me-
alter ! once got EN- strapped on il
them skates he'd come off, the feet wud
ha' come with 'em! An now away
we go-Laura an me. Around the
bend-near the medder where ST Bar.
ker's dog killed q woodchuck last
summer-we meet the rest. We for.
get all about the cold. We run races
and play snap the whip, an cut all
sorts O didoes, an we never mind the
plck're weed that is froze in on the
ice an trips us up every time we cut
the outside edge; an then we boys
Jump over the alr-holes, an the girls
stan by an scream an tell Us
they know we're agoin' to drown
ourselves. So the hours go, an i,
Is sun-up at last, an Sister Helen saws
we must be eettin' home. When We
get our skates off, our feet feel as Il
they were wood. Laura has lost he,
tlppet; lend hsr mine and she kind O.
bushes. The old pond seems glad tc
nave us 60, and the fire-hangbird's
nest IN the willer tree waves us good
ny. Laura promises to come over tc
our house IN the evenin', and SO ",
break up.
"Seems now" continued Ezra mu
slngIy, "seems now as if l could see us
all at breakfast. The race on tho Dond
has made us hungry, and mother says
she never knew anybody else's bows
that had such capac' ties as hers. Iii;
Yankee thanksgivin' breakfast sau
sages an fried potatoes. an buckwhea1